Flexible laces are typically used to securely fasten shoes, sneakers, boots and other types of footwear. In most instances, after the lace is tightened on the footwear, the ends are tied in conventional bow-knots. It is well known that such bow-knots have a tendency to loosen or become untied, which is inconvenient and hazardous, particularly when the footwear is to be used in a dangerous occupation. Such occupations include those in which the laces could become tangled with machinery or other equipment, such as in construction, military, law enforcement, emergency services and the like.
Because of the danger posed by exposed laces, in many fields of work it is often required that laces on a boot or other article of footwear be secured in the interior of the footwear for safety purposes. For example, one requirement of a military dress code requires that, after a boot has been tied, the extra laces be tucked inside the boot. A typical method of securing the laces is to lace and knot the boots, circle the laces around the boot, tie the laces and tuck any remainder portions of the laces inside the boot. One problem with this method is that when boots are secured in this manner, over the course of the day in which the boots are worn the laces tend to bind into the leather of the boot and produce pressure on the lower portion of the wearer's leg. The pressure cuts of circulation, and may produce uncomfortable swelling and unnecessary fatigue for the wearer.
Many devices have been developed for retaining shoelaces. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,888 describes a device wherein the bow-knotted laces are rolled in a shoelace retainer. While such a solution may preclude a wearer from tripping over the ends of the laces, the shoelace retainer forms an exterior protrusion from the footwear which could likely become caught on dangerous equipment. It would be desirable to determine a method and apparatus for securing laces without adding any dangerous protrusions to the footwear.